Brewers Association Releases 2022 Rankings of Top 50 Craft Breweries By Volume; Athletic Brewing, Fiddlehead Make Big Leaps Again

The Brewers Association (BA) has shared its rankings of the top 50 independent craft breweries by sales volume, with U.S. craft brewers under the trade group’s small and independent brewery definition collectively producing 24.3 million barrels of beer and gaining 0.1% share of the overall beer market by volume to claim 13.2% share.

Production was “on par” with 2021, the BA added. While the craft segment was “static,” it does not mean that “all parts” of craft were, BA chief economist Bart Watson emphasized during a virtual press conference today. He noted the contrast between distributing breweries, with many recording volume declines, and onsite breweries such as taprooms and brewpubs, which saw gains.

“A lot of the slowdown in the total numbers is a result of that distributed market becoming much more competitive,” Watson said. “That doesn’t mean that overall demand for craft brewing is slowing, as much as we’re seeing some challenges in distribution and there’s still opportunities in that hospitality focus.”

The overall beer market declined -3% by volume in 2022, the BA reported. The organization added that the retail dollar value of the beer category was an estimated $28.46 billion, +6% growth compared to 2021. The stronger dollar sales growth compared to volume was attributed to increased pricing, “share shift to smaller brewers” that sell at-the-brewery or via distributed draft and channel shift to on-premise establishments, which have higher average retail value.

Record Number of Breweries in Operation in 2022; Openings Still Outpace Closures

The number of craft breweries in operation in 2022 reached a new zenith of 9,552, which breaks out to:

2,035 microbreweries
3,418 brewpubs
3,838 taproom breweries
261 regional craft breweries.

The number of overall breweries in operation at some point in 2022 was 9,709, up from 9,384 in 2021. The number of brewery openings (549) outpaced closures (319), but the number of openings declined for a second consecutive year, which the BA said was a reflection of “a more mature market.” The closing rate for breweries in 2022 was approximately 3%.

“On opening closings, I do want to stress that even in a tough environment, we saw openings continue to outpace closings in 2022,” Watson said. “Now, those lines are coming together. We’ve seen openings decline and closings did increase relative to 2021, though remaining lower than in 2020. But this is not a bubble bursting, this is a maturing market.”

The number of direct jobs provided by craft breweries increased +9% year-over-year, to 189,413 direct jobs in 2022, which the BA attributed to the increased number of breweries and the ongoing shift to hospitality-focused business models.

Watson said the labor market is still “tighter” than it was pre-pandemic, but “not as bad as it was [at] the peaks of labor tightness,” and varies locally.

“This is probably, again, another example of a new normal,” Watson added. “We have a much smaller generation compared to millennials in Gen Z entering the labor market right now, and so, particularly in some of those entry level positions, it’s probably just going to be a tight labor market for the coming years.”

Top Volume Rankings Largely Unchanged; Major Leaps for Athletic, Fiddlehead & More

The top five breweries remained unchanged, ranking in order: D.G. Yuengling & Son, Boston Beer Company, Sierra Nevada, Duvel Moortgat (Firestone Walker, Boulevard, Brewery Ommegang), and Shiner maker Gambrinus.

The No. 6 position opened up with Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery no longer meeting the BA’s craft brewer definition following a sale to New Belgium parent company, Lion Little World Beverages, which is owned by Kirin. Taking over that position was Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Victory, Sixpoint, Southern Tier), which gained two positions.

Stone Brewing, which will fall off the 2023 list due to its sale to Japanese brewer Sapporo, also gained two spots, coming in at No. 7.

The CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective (Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Squatters, Wasatch), which is owned by energy drink Monster but maintains its BA craft brewer status, fell one spot to No. 8. Cannabis firm Tilray’s craft brewery portfolio (SweetWater, Green Flash, Alpine, Montauk), which also remains within the craft brewery data set, gained one spot to No. 9.

Brooklyn Brewery rounded out the top 10, gaining three spots to claim No. 10. Deschutes, New Glarus and Matt Brewing held onto the No. 11, No. 12 and No. 14 spots, respectively.

Several craft breweries made leaps outside of the top 10, including:

non-alcoholic beer maker Athletic Brewing, which gained 14 spots year-over-year (YoY) to rank No. 13;
the combination of Maui Brewing (No. 43 in 2021) and Modern Times (and No. 48) under the Craft Ohana platform placed No. 28;
Pittsburgh Brewing Co. (Iron City, IC Light and other brands), which was unlisted in 2021, ranked No. 31;
Fiddlehead Brewing gained 13 spots to rank No. 36;
Jack’s Abby leaped 16 spots to rank No. 47;
And another platform, Made By the Water, created through the acquisitions and mergers of Faubourg, Palmetto, Oyster City and Catawba brands, cracked the top 50.

Other breweries making single-digit gains included:

Minhas +2 to No. 15;
Harpoon +5 to No. 16;
Great Lakes +1 to No. 18;
Allagash +3 to No. 20;
Georgetown +4 to No. 21;
Rhinegeist +5 to No. 23;
Three Floyds +2 to No. 24;
Narragansett +5 to No. 27;
August Schell +1 to No. 29;
Kings & Convicts (Ballast Point) +4 to No. 30;
Flying Dog +1 to No. 34;
Creature Comforts +4 to No. 37;
BrewDog +1 to No. 38;
Saint Arnold +1 to No. 44;
IndieBrew (Scofflaw and Bearded Iris) +1 to No. 45;
Shipyard +1 to No. 46;
North Coast +3 to No. 48 (North Coast was initially ranked No. 50 in 2021 but fell off the revised top 50 list after BrewDog submitted its production data);
Pizza Port +8 to No. 49.

Watson said there were mainly two categories of breweries that recorded volume gains in 2022. The first is “groups,” such as Craft Ohana and Made by the Water, where multiple craft brands are “banding together” to share resources. The second is breweries “standing out in the marketplace” and “adding incremental growth,” such as Athletic, which markets to new beer occasions with its non-alc offerings.

Breweries falling down the rankings included:

Gordon Biersch -2 to No. 17;
Stevens Point -1 to No. 19;
Odell Brewing -2 to No. 22;
Troëgs -1 to No. 25;
Summit -4 to No. 26;
Alaskan -1 to No. 32;
Kona Brewing (Hawaii operations/not A-B) -4 to No. 33;
Abita Brewing -19 to No. 35;
Revolution -1 to No. 39;
Lost Coast -3 to No. 40;
Rogue Ales -8 to No. 41;
Surly -1 to No. 42;
Ninkasi -2 to No. 43.

Falling off the top 50 list were 21st Amendment, which ranked No. 43 in 2021, and Left Hand, which ranked No. 47.

Watson estimated that around two-thirds of the total craft volume was reported in its 2022 survey, with the rest pulled from state excise tax reports and estimated from other sources. Production numbers do not include FMBs, hard seltzers, cider or other beyond beer offerings.

The BA will release its full 2022 industry report in the May/June issue of The New Brewer magazine. Watson will also share more details during the 2023 Craft Brewers Conference in Nashville May 7-10.

Top 50 Overall Rankings

The BA also shared the rankings of the overall top 50 brewing companies in the U.S. They are as follows: